3.15.2015

The Garden Island

Every fruit and vegetable that comes from the farmers market or friends is a free giveaway of seeds. If I'm happy with the taste I want to grow it. We need to plant more trees. I'm officially addicted to planting. Friends around me are pointing towards natural resources that enable to create a community garden; fruit forest compost in the backyard, old flats at Sheldonia farms for seeding, 6" sickle at the local hardware store (my first farm tool I've owned, and only cost $11), seeds from leftover Hanai produce and my grandmother, the list goes on. Each day brings a new element to the Garden of Rosa on the Garden Island. Rosa and Jess goes on a quick stroll around our property and comes back with hands full of flowers, sprouting chayote, lima beans, chili peppers and papayas. Our landlord brings us mint and parsley from her daycare garden.... and I have more mint, lettuce, radish, cucumber, ice cream bean tree, cacao, coffee in the earth outside our front door. Rosa helped clear 500 square feet of earth this week and cut down vines around the fence. She planted her first tree, at the age of almost 2.

We're getting ready for something big in our lives... a chance to grow our long-term health in our backyard. We cannot have goats or horses on the property, but that's probably a good thing because if I could do homesteading all the way to the point where I wouldn't need a car or buy anything, I would. I'd rather have a horse and buggy than a Jeep, and wonder if I could convert to an Amish lad and get the DoT approval to ride a horse to Sheldonia Farms. When I look into the pantry and see no corn flour to make honey cornbread I say to myself... I need land to grow on, water, sun, corn seed (not genetically modified), a grain mill and patience. Is the need and desire to be off-grid and self sustainable too much to ask for in a culture that relies heavily on transportation of food and fuel, social networking and the processing of natural resources? I want to unplug and the more time I spend in the garden and dreaming up ways to harvest fresh water and what to pickle next, the less time I have to be busy running errands, that I don't really need to run. We don't have a heater, air conditioner, television, radio, stove, washer, dryer, Iphone... but, there's a beach down the road, a garden out back and lots of fun work to be done...